Affordable Solar & Wind

Solar Power for Airplanes

In recent years, talk of green alternatives for cars has been heard immensely. But what about other vehicles and modes of transportation? The solar powered car has been studied and produced but now there is also some talk of a solar powered airplane. Gasoline use is incredibly high and that doesn’t look like it will be stopping any time soon. Finding an alternative is high on many people’s priority lists. Solar power is something that seems promising though it does have its disadvantages.

Solar powered planes have been under study for quite some time now. A concept model has been produced called the Solar Impulse. For a solar powered plane it is quite impressive but it is lacking in certain areas. Something this huge cannot be perfected all at once so it may take some time before the Solar Impulse is arriving at an airport near you. The concept model is very expensive, costing an outstanding $94 million dollars to produce. At that price, it’s unlikely that airlines will be looking into making a switch in the near future.  

This concept model was designed so that only one pilot can fit in the cockpit at a time. That may be seen as a disadvantage when it comes to health and safety. If something were to happen to the pilot, he would not have assistance. The airplane is made out of carbon fibre which is a durable material that is also quite flexible. The plane is designed to draw power from the sun during the day, storing it in the battery so that the plane is operable at night as well. Of course like any solar powered machine, an overcast day could cause complications that need to be addressed to get beyond the concept model stage. 

The solar powered airplane does have its drawbacks. It can only fly for an average of eight hours at a time before it will need to be recharged. With hundreds of people thousands of feet in the air, that could pose a serious problem. The plane can average 127,000 feet which is more than adequate. However, there are clearly some features that need to be perfected before these planes are made available to the public. 

It may or may not come as a surprise to some that the solar powered airplane is something that NASA has been studying for many years now. The use of solar power seems to be one of those things that everyone is striving to harness. There is no question that it is something worth making use of. However, there is plenty of work to be done still before it is something we will see in our daily lives. There are simply too many safety issues to be dealt with. Solar power is promising but it is not yet ready to take the place of gasoline powered airplanes or automobiles. More time invested in this option may bring it to that point. Given enough time and expertise, the solar powered airplane certainly could be the way of the future.

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